Israelis Promulgate Extrajudicial Murder
and the United States Looks On by Sherri Muzherwww.dissidentvoice.org
March 23, 2004

As
an American of Palestinian descent and Christian faith, I never cared much
for the ultimate goal of Hamas: to establish a religious state in Palestine.

But I find myself angered
and baffled at Israel's decision to assassinate Hamas founder and spiritual
leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin.

What is even more baffling
is the U.S. response, especially since its close ally, Ariel Sharon,
personally commanded this extrajudicial killing.

National security adviser
Condoleezza Rice said on NBC's Today that "it is very important that
everyone step back now and try now to be calm in the region. There is always
a possibility of a better day in the Middle East, and some of the things
being talked about by the Israelis... might provide new opportunities."

by John Chuckman

So the good ideas will come
from Israel, which just assassinated Yassin? I read that as implying that if
Palestinians react, they will be held responsible for any fallout.
Unbelievable.

One thing is certain about
the killing of the blind and quadriplegic Yassin: A peace agreement that
once seemed unlikely now seems unreachable in the near future. Sharon is not
stupid; his government expects retaliation. And the Israeli Defense Force
will use that retaliation as an excuse to kill more Palestinians. It is a
script that has played itself out for the last 31/2 years.

Each round becomes more
deadly, and each has far-reaching effects. There are now more than 700
Israeli checkpoints in the occupied territories. A barrier is being built
that has imprisoned many Palestinian villages and towns. The economic siege
continues, and a British report now compares the Palestinian malnourishment
levels to those in Africa. Still, the Palestinians have not been deterred
from demanding freedom and independence.

Extrajudicial killings
circumvent more than the negotiating table, though they certainly do that.
Israel sought to circumvent international law itself. It wishes to brandish
the stick and hand out the carrots.

The reasons for the current
uprising are many and understandable. Certainly, they should appeal to any
American. Consider freedom from occupation for a start. Freedom from having
their olive orchards uprooted, a source of income for many; from having
their homes demolished; from Israeli military checkpoints on the road to and
from all Palestinian cities, so that travelers are held up from two to six
hours on comparatively short journeys. Freedom to bring up children as
opposed to fighting as adults are, so that they won't be subject to the
humiliation their parents know now; freedom to know the same kind of
security Israelis want for themselves.

Three million Palestinians
have tolerated - in the overwhelming majority of cases, peaceably - the
denial of these freedoms for more than three decades. They ought to be
commended for their restraint all this time. There are an occasional few
young men who can no longer wait, however, with often tragic results. It's
been said that there is no enemy greater than the one who has nothing to
lose.

Some think Yassin's death
will put a stop to the Palestinian intifadah. But the intifadah is bigger
than Sheikh Yassin. It is bigger than Yasir Arafat. It is most certainly
bigger than Ariel Sharon. It involves the human spirit and the desire to be
free.

Rice was right to say there
is always a possibility of a better day in the Middle East. When Israel ends
the occupation and implements United Nations resolutions as other nations
are expected to, a better tomorrow may be realized. But extrajudicial
killings won't get us to that tomorrow. It's a shame the U.S. government,
with its silence in the fact of its ally's unjust acts, doesn't understand
that.

Sherri Muzher
is a Palestinian-American lawyer, writer and activist based in Detroit,
Michigan.